Wheeling Symphony Orchestra opens the Great American Songbook to celebrate America

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — While the patriotic 4th of July music favorites never change, the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra’s program does every year.

Its 2024 Celebrate America concerts will be a celebration of the Great American Songbook, or the Broadway and jazz standards from the mid-20th century.

Conductor John Devlin says if you like Rodgers and Hammerstein or musicals like Les Miserables, you’ll be able to sing along.

Guest soloist and opera singer Ben Gulley is the featured guest, and says even the most American songs speak to international audiences.

“These songs mean a lot as an interpreter of songs, and we like to talk about it, and the maestro and I talk about this, too. We’re really storytellers. So the stories in these songs are very emotional and very profound.”

Ben Gulley, Featured guest soloist

“The Wheeling Symphony thinks of itself not just as a concert producer, but also as a convener of our community. Labor Day, July 4th, around the holidays, Symphony on Ice here at WesBanco Arena. We like to mark specific occasions on the calendar and give people a sense of tradition.”

John Devlin, Music Director and Conductor, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra

He says they’re also boosters of not just American music, but West Virginia compositions, including one in the concert written especially for Canaan Valley.

This concert is the first of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra’s 95th season.

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